Life Lived Like a Story,<\/em> in which the linguistic anthropologist describes her interactions with their way of life to be \u201cthe foundational experience of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cIt was a kind of really tremendous change happening in people\u2019s sense in the community and in the world,\u201d Cruikshank recalls. But at the time, \u201cit was much more political than in the arts.\u201d<\/p>\n
During her fieldwork with Yukon First Nations women, the anthropologist was already working within changing societal currents. The timing was not quite ready for arts to step into the spotlight, but the value of a distinct First Nations identity was gaining traction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was always this desire to get these foundational stories \u2013 whether expressed in words, or in artistic reproduction \u2013 into the world, and for young people,\u201d Cruikshank says. \u201cSome of the young women I knew said, \u2018We want to know about [our] grandmothers\u2019 lives, because it\u2019s important to get that into the land claim.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Cruikshank recalls her side conversations: \u201cA number of people said, \u2018we want these stories to get outside. This is your job now, to get these stories outside,\u2019 \u201d with \u201coutside\u201d being further than Whitehorse and even beyond Yukon\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n
Cruikshank laughs as she describes her research techniques and the technology available to her in the ’80s and early ’90s as she worked towards\u00a0Life Lived Like a Story<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 she had considered documenting her conversations through film to preserve even more of their authenticity of subject voices, but says access to the technology was limited to very skilled filmmakers.<\/p>\n\u201cI had met a professional filmmaker who said, \u2018You should be doing it this way,\u2019 but we had no cameras, no anything.\u201d She resorted to using a portable tape recorder that took little cassette tapes, \u201cthat was state-of-the-art at that time.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Cruikshank says it\u2019s hard to tell how the women would have responded with having a true-to-life capture of their activities. \u201cI don\u2019t think the women would have been as comfortable with the cameras,\u201d Cruikshank says. She herself felt an unease with sharing personal space with women whilst armed with a machine: \u201cEven having that little tape recorder, I felt it was kind of invasive.\u201d At the outset, Cruikshank would write notes as quickly as possible during her interviews, then go home and type out the notes before reading them back to her subjects, until: \u201cOne day, one of the women said, \u2018Why don\u2019t you get a tape recorder, and you\u2019d get it right the first time?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Cruikshank\u2019s research helped to establish a positive feedback system within Indigenous communities. \u201cI think at that point, it was kind of a point of pride for people to be able to have something that they could [show] their grandmother,\u201d she says. In addition to enriching the communities\u2019 cultural bank, Cruikshank contributes more concretely to the futures of community youth. Notably, she established a scholarship for First Nations youth to pursue post-secondary education sustained by proceeds from sales of\u00a0Life Lived Like a Story<\/em>. Between 1993 and 2012, 19 students received $300 apiece.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cWe were very clear that any royalties of any kind would go back to this scholarship,\u201d Cruikshank says. \u201cI think that the one concern at that point was that people might record these stories and then be making money from them in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cruikshank is happy to support all generations of First Nations in their continued revitalization. She has been following the topic of Truth and Reconciliation over the course of its evolution since her fieldwork days, but it is extensive to unpack.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember at that time thinking, in some ways there\u2019s two things going on here: there\u2019s Truth, and there\u2019s Reconciliation,\u201d Cruikshank says. \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s a simple blend in any way whatsoever \u2013 I think that sometimes we think things are going forward, and then I talk with other people and I hear perspectives from my friends in the Yukon that made me think that the process is far more complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time of her fieldwork, her actions had been guided by the women and their wishes, and she worked without any personal agenda. \u201cI just listened to friends who were more my age and listened to mothers and grandmothers with whom I was working, trying to do the best I could,\u201d Cruikshank says. \u201cI\u2019m sure there were probably things that might have been mistakes. It was a process for all of us. It was all very new.\u201d<\/p>\n
The road to cultural revitalization is a joint effort; recognizing this, Cruikshank made the conscientious decision to step aside and let those who are currently in those circles take up the mantle in her place.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very important for me to hear now from the daughters and granddaughters of the women I worked with, what they think about what\u2019s going on. I hope we\u2019ll have many more over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.21″][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.21″]\u00a0<\/pee><\/pee>\u00a0<\/pee>[\/et_pb_code][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.21″]\u00a0<\/pee><\/pee>\u00a0<\/pee>[\/et_pb_code][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.21″]\u00a0<\/pee><\/pee>\u00a0<\/pee>[\/et_pb_code][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.21″]\u00a0<\/pee><\/pee>\u00a0<\/pee>[\/et_pb_code][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.21″]\u00a0<\/pee><\/pee>\u00a0<\/pee>[\/et_pb_code][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.21″]\u00a0<\/pee><\/pee>\u00a0<\/pee>[\/et_pb_code][et_pb_testimonial author=”\u2013 Julie Cruikshank” _builder_version=”3.21″ body_font=”||||||||” body_text_color=”#179e75″]<\/p>\n\u201c[In the 1980s and 90s,] anthropology was changing very much. There was a big shift from this outsider perspective to understanding\u2026there was a lot more interest in how people frame their own experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.22.3″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.21″][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”3.21″][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.22.3″][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.21″][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/artsyfn\/performing-to-the-first-nations-beat\/” button_text=”Previous: Performing to the First Nations beat” button_alignment=”left” _builder_version=”3.21″][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.21″][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/artsyfn\/pow-wow-as-an-enhanced-indigenous-performance\/” button_text=”Next: Pow-wow as an enhanced Indigenous performance” button_alignment=”right” _builder_version=”3.21″][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Julie Cruikshank spent the 1980s and early ’90s working with Yukon First Nations women to document their peoples\u2019 stories. Her transcripts have been made into the book, Life Lived Like a Story, in which the linguistic anthropologist describes her interactions with their way of life to be \u201cthe foundational experience of my life.\u201d \u201cIt was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-39","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n
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